Business notes
St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board Projects and Land Committee will hold a public workshop Jan. 8 to discuss the district's work in the Lower St. Johns River Basin.

More cool Web sites to check out ...
Don't you get a kick out of stumbling upon a new Web site that's either dazzling in its presentation or contains exactly what you were looking for?

'I'm a Rat Man'
FELLSMERE -- It could only be heaven on earth for a rat snake, but someone has to do it.

Children consider winter a wonderland
Winter weather has arrived. While we may not be wild about the wet white stuff, little ones love it. Even when the snow has melted, kids can't wait to be bundled in their snow gear again. Here are few books that celebrate the snow.

Social Security Q&A
Q: If I start receiving my Social Security at age 62, will I still get cost-of-living adjustments every year? A friend said that if I started getting Social Security benefits before my full retirement age, my payments would always be frozen at that amount.

Pets of the week
If you've resolved to put a new friend in your life, we hope you'll consider visiting the St. Augustine Humane Society shelter at 1665 Old Moultrie Road because we believe your next best friend is waiting.

Column of the day: Daytime dial
ALL MY CHILDREN: Kendall freed Greenlee after Ryan tied her to a column in his penthouse to keep her from going to see Juan Pablo. Babe showed Krystal her annulment papers from Paul, which she had never signed.

Volunteer spotlight
Cathy Brown, volunteer director, knows of several areas in the community that need volunteers. For more information about the Volunteer Center of St. Johns County, contact Brown at 827-1917. E-mail her at ckbrown@aug.com.

Let it snow
A St. Augustine couple went fishing for a dream and reeled in a little girl's wish. Cheryl and Buddy Tillman held a charity fishing tournament in late August to benefit 9-year-old Amber Teetsell, whose cancer is in remission.

News notes
Kids Bridge Inc. along with various local law enforcement agencies, will sponsor a charity golf scramble Jan. 31 at the St. Johns County Golf Course. Start time is 8 a.m., and cost is $60 per golfer.

Late life needs early attention
My mother was near death from cancer before she would sign over access to her checking and savings accounts. The bank representative had to come to her hospital room to notarize the documents.

Briefly
Robert Dexter Parker received a bachelor of science degree in advertising from the University of Florida at the commence-ment ceremony Dec. 20.

Puppetry coming to St. Augustine
The puppets are coming Jan. 17. "Aesop's Dinosaur and Ant," performed by Bits 'N' Pieces giant puppet theatre will be presented at 2 p.m. at the Flagler College auditorium, Granada Street.

ABWA offering scholarships
The Anastasia Chapter of the American Business Women's Association is seeking applicants for its annual scholarship program.

Character Counts! nominations sought
The community is being asked to submit nominations for the character education awards program established by the Character Counts! Steering Committee of St. Johns County.

Murray science fair has 18 finalists
More than 150 students participated in this year's science fair at Murray Middle School, with 18 finalists selected to participate in the St. Johns County Regional Science Fair Feb. 4 through 6 at the First Coast Technical Center.

Garden briefs
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Master Gardeners will be at the St. Johns County Agricultural Center from 9 a.m. to noon to answer your individual gardening questions.

Garden Hotline: Some seeds need cold treatment
Winter is a time for plantaholics to gather seed from hardy trees and shrubs to start new plants. Most seeds from hardy plants need a cold treatment to replicate winter before they will germinate.

Coexisting With Nature
Don O'Dell had the right idea. He and wife Marcia moved into their early 1900s Saragossa Street home 21/2 years ago.

Your Gardening Q&A
Q. I gathered some mistletoe, but it has some black flecks on it. Is there anyway I can clean this off?

Dr. Donohue: Bloodstream infection can kill suddenly
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My cousin, only 32 years old, died suddenly. The cause of death was septic shock. Neither my relatives nor I know the meaning of this. How could a youthful, athletic man die at such a young age? Can you enlighten us? -- W.W.

U.S. helicopter shot down, one dead
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents shot down a U.S. helicopter west of Baghdad on Friday, killing one soldier, and U.S. forces said they came under fire with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades as they guarded the burning aircraft.

Sebastian harbor project draws only three bids
Three development companies -- only one from St. Johns County -- presented final bids for the Sebastian Inland Harbor project, and the St. Augustine City Commission may choose the best one on Jan. 12.

A Look Back at 2003
Take a look back at 2003 with some of the Record photo staff's most striking pictures.

Support efforts to lower taxes
The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners has pledged itself to find ways to generate new revenue while possibly lowering property taxes.

First few trading sessions could set '04 tone
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street rode out 2003 on a wave of optimism this past week as upbeat investors bet that the economic rebound will accelerate. But analysts say the next few trading days may be more telling since early January gains historically bode well for the rest of the year.

School District gets 'A' in state report
St. Johns County School District is once again at the head of its class. Of 67 school districts statewide, St. Johns County is one of 20 that earned an A grade in 2003.

Meetings & agendas
St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board meets at the St. Johns County School Board's Administration Building, 40 Orange St., at 2 p.m. Tuesday

Plane crashes into Red Sea
SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - A charter jet full of French tourists returning home after Egyptian vacations crashed into the shark-infested Red Sea early Saturday, killing all 148 people aboard. Officials blamed mechanical failure.

Drug fees for poor stop after uproar
TALLAHASSEE -- The state has ended a new program, just a day after its inception, that forced private pharmacists to decide whether poor and medically needy patients should pay a fee for prescriptions that have been free.

For the Record
An introduction to the local history of the civil rights movement in St. Augustine is scheduled Jan. 10, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, at the southeast branch of the St. Johns County Library, 6670 U.S. 1 South.

Dean criticism of Bush backfires
Presidential hopeful Howard Dean, who accuses President Bush of being weak on homeland security, was warned repeatedly as Vermont governor about security lapses at his state's nuclear power plant and was told the state was ill-prepared for a disaster at its most attractive terrorist target.

Police Report: Suspects arrested
The following was compiled from police reports collected from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJCSO), St. Augustine Police Department (SAPD) and St. Augustine Beach Police Department (SABPD):

Ads, concerts may provide new revenue for theaters
By now, moviegoers have become grudgingly accustomed to watching commercials before films in theaters, regarding them as the price they pay (in addition to the cost of the ticket) for seeing a movie.

Cora Maye Russell Large
Cora Maye "Jo" Russell Large, 88, of St. Augustine, died Dec. 20, 2003, at Flagler Hospital. She was a native and lifelong resident of St. Augustine. She was a graduate of Ketterlinus High School, a graduate of Temple University School of Nursing, a registered nurse at Flagler Hospital, a member of the Audubon Society, a realtor and a pilot. She was a volunteer for the Trinity Episcopal Thrift Shop, a life member of the St. Augustine Historical preservation Board, the Humane Society and the St. Augustine, St. Johns County Art Association. She was of the Catholic faith.

Jerry Lavon Hudgins
Jerry Levon Hudgins, 64, of St. Augustine, died Jan. 3, 2004 at him home. He served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a builder with Desco Marine and later for Luhrs, retiring in 2002. After retirement he worked part time in the tax collector's office.

Cora Maye Russell Large
Cora Maye Russell Large, of St. Augustine, died peacefully on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2003 at the home of her caregiver. She would have been 89 on Dec. 24. Cora Maye was born on Christmas Eve. She has a distinction which may be hers alone. In 1914 she was born here in the Oldest School House on St. George St., where her grandmothers, Mrs. Cora Kerns, operated a gift shop in the room now occupied by wax figures of children and their teacher.

James Elmer Davis
James Elmer Davis, 86, St. Augustine, died Dec. 29, 2003 at the Samantha Wilson Care Center at Bayview. Elmer was born in Spartanburg, S.C. to the late Henry and Mattie Worley Davis, as the second son in a large family of 6 boys and 4 girls. Elmer also had four half brothers and sisters. He attended Spartanburg High School and later worked for a bakery in Spartanburg before the outbreak of WW II. Elmer married his sweetheart, Mickey (Holt) Davis just before entering training in the U.S. Army as an infantryman. Elmer was wounded and captured by the Nazis when his unit was decimated at the battle of Rapido River. Elmer spent the next 16 months as a prisoner of the German government under some of the most trying circumstances imaginable. He survived due to his strong faith and his love for his wife and family. He was liberated in 1945 and returned home to South Carolina to his wife and family. He later joined the railroad and he and Mickey had one son, James Michael. The family moved to St. Augustine in 1956 because work was available on the Florida East Coast Railway. Elmer retired from the Seaboard Coast Line railroad in the 1970's and enjoyed retirement with his beloved wife Mickey until her death in 1996. He adored his two grandsons, Andy and Matt Davis. He was a devout Baptist and deacon at Ancient City Baptist Church and his later years were happily spent at Coral Landing Assisted Living Residence in St. Augustine. Elmer was a man of the highest integrity and character whose path to heaven is assured.

Lois Edna Lee Boynton
Lois Edna Lee Boynton, 79, of St Augustine, died Jan. 1, 2004 at Ponce de Leon Care Center. She was a native of Miami, Fla., formerly of Tuscon, Ariz., and had resided here since 2000. She was a member of St Paul's United Methodist Church inTucson.

Visualization technologies enliven Internet search
NEW YORK -- As wonderful as Internet search engines are, they have a pretty big flaw. They often deliver too much information, and a lot of it isn't quite what we're looking for. Who really bothers to read the dozens of pages of results that Google generates?

Perspective: Time to clean the grill for Super Bowl crowd
My family couldn't find me the other day. "His car is home but where is dad?" My daughters went looking for me, calling my name about the house. Eventually they discovered that I was asleep inside our pop-up camper in the driveway.

Around the nation
Proponents of clean air received a gift from the U.S. Court of Appeals on Christmas Eve when the court blocked the Bush administration's attempt to weaken the Clean Air Act.

Letter: Leave litigation threats out of the Guana debate
Editor: I just returned from the Ponte Vedra Coalition's December meeting where we heard presentations outlining the pros and cons of a proposal to build a high school in the northern fringe of the Guana River Wildlife Management Area.

Tradition-rich Kentucky, UNC ready for showdown
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- North Carolina coach Roy Williams remembers listening to Kentucky basketball broadcasts on the radio during his childhood years in western North Carolina, during an era in which Kentucky and North Carolina already had started winning NCAA and conference titles.

Computer generated showdown
NEW ORLEANS -- The Sooner Schooner is in town, pulled by horses named Boomer and Sooner. The glittery Golden Girls and their 325-member Golden Band from Tigerland are here, too.

USC in sweet position for AP title
Rest easy, USC. Your No. 1 ranking appears safe. The Trojans impressed The Associated Press pollsters so much with their dismantling of Michigan in the Rose Bowl that some voters already have decided to drop LSU from the No. 1 spot -- even before the Tigers play in the Sugar Bowl.

AFC: Kick knocks Ravens out
BALTIMORE -- With one gritty victory, the Tennessee Titans ended a run of misery against Baltimore and kept alive their hope of returning to the Super Bowl.

Rangers bash Pens; Lightning in a rout
PITTSBURGH -- Mark Messier set up the Rangers' first two goals, and Jussi Markkanen withstood a penalty shot and a sizable Pittsburgh shots advantage to beat the Penguins 4-1 Saturday.

Seattle tries not to worry about Lambeau
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- To football fans everywhere, Lambeau Field is one of the world's best-known sports cathedrals. The Seattle Seahawks, though, choose to view it as the site of their next game.

Duke stuns UConn
HARTFORD, Conn. -- This time, Duke came all the way back. Behind Alana Beard's 20 second-half points, No. 4 Duke rallied to beat top-ranked Connecticut 68-67 on Saturday -- snapping a home winning streak of 69 games and preventing the Huskies from setting an NCAA record.

Columbus, Denis shut out Lightning, 2-0
TAMPA -- Marc Denis made 37 saves to help Columbus beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Friday in Gerard Gallant's first game as the Blue Jackets' interim head coach.

Nutt turns Nebraska coaching job down
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Houston Nutt on Saturday rejected Nebraska's $2 million offer to coach the Cornhuskers, saying strong family ties and a job left undone would not let him leave Arkansas.

Clemson upsets Vols to win Peach Bowl
ATLANTA -- Given more than a month to prepare, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden had plenty of tricks in his playbook. None was bigger than unleashing little-used Chad Jasmin.

Former 'Canes are willing and able
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- When Edgerrin James watches Clinton Portis run, he sees a little of himself in the Denver Broncos' star running back.

Flagler women struggle after half, fall 83-66
The Celtics had Bird and McHale. The Pistons Isaiah and Dumars. The Lakers Magic and Kareem, then Shaq and Kobe. The Flagler College women's basketball team has a pair of Laura's -- Barnes and Schwendeman.

Saints bury UMass-Boston
Hopefully, the UMass-Boston men's basketball team is enjoying the warm winter weather in St. Augustine, because its experience in the Flagler College Basketball Tournament couldn't be too pleasant.

Brady cool, collected as playoffs start
FOXBORO, Mass. -- When Tom Brady steps in the huddle, he's the boss. When he jumps in the arms of a teammate who just caught his touchdown pass, he's an excited kid.

One winner wins Fantasy 5
TALLAHASSEE (AP) -- One winner of the "Fantasy 5" game will collect $188,174.34, the Florida Lottery said Friday.

Rush guitarist freed after fight with deputies
NAPLES (AP) -- The lead guitarist for the rock band Rush was freed from Collier County Jail on Friday, two days after he allegedly skirmished with sheriff's deputies and spat blood on one after his son refused to leave the stage at a fancy hotel, authorities said.

Attorney says Tate will sign plea agreement today
MIAMI -- A teenager who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 6-year-old playmate will sign paperwork accepting a plea deal today, a move which further clears the way for his release from prison.

Mega Money payouts
TALLAHASSEE (AP) -- One ticket matched the four winning numbers plus the Mega Ball number to collect $164,494.75 in the "Mega Money" game, the Florida Lottery said Saturday.